About Us
Congress: The Context
In addition to the lesson plans posted on this site, the Web hosts scores of other lessons about Congress. This section of CongressLink highlights the best and provides links to them. If you know of a lesson that we should include, please send an e-mail to Frank Mackaman at fmackaman@dirksencenter.org.
Links to individual lessons about Congress
Individual Lessons about Congress
Analyze President Bush's State of the Union Address on January 20
The purpose of this lesson is to teach students about the history
and purpose of the State of the Union address, and to teach them
how to evaluate the speech. Students will discuss the elements
of a successful political speech, and they will watch President
Bush's State of the Union Address on January 20.
The Capitol Building
What makes the U.S. Capitol "symbolically important"? Presented
with a variety of archival documents, students can answer that
question for themselves. Working in small groups, they will uncover
and share the Capitol's story. The primary sources are presented
to the students as mysteries, with a challenge to tie together
the information in the documents or images through research.
Grade level: 3-5.
Caucuses
and Primaries: The Presidential Nominating System
Introduce students to the system of primaries and caucuses by
which candidates for U.S. president are nominated by their parties.
Checks and Balances
One of the most persistent and overarching complaints the American
colonists had about the rule of the British monarchy was the
extent of its power. One of the most persistent and overarching
complaints about the early government of the U.S. under the Articles
of Confederation was the weakness of the federal government.
Attempting to form a more perfect union, the framers of the Constitution
designed a government that clearly assigned power to three branches,
while at the same time guaranteeing that the power of any branch
could be checked by another. Using primary source documents,
your students can see clear demonstrations of how one branch
of our government can check another.
Grade level: 3-5.
Committee
Processes and the U.S. Senate
This exercise simulates the deliberations and negotiations that
take place among Senators who sit on several committees as they
participate in the simultaneous mark-up processes of a number
of bills. Working with their individual staffs, Senators must
decide which of the bills under consideration are considered
priorities, what amendments to each bill they believe are necessary,
and how they can succeed in ensuring that the bills they support
are reported out to the full Senate for a deliberation and vote.
Senators will need to devise a strategy for working with their
colleagues in order to ensure that they are best able to advance
their own particular legislative agenda. The simulation was developed
by the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations,
Center for International Development and Conflict Management
at the University of Maryland. The ICONS Project offers high
school and university students from around the world the opportunity
to participate in Internet-based simulations.
Grade level: Offered in three versions, one each for high school,
university level, and professional level.
Congress in the Classroom
The students will simulate the workings of Congress by bringing
the lawmaking process into their own classroom. Students will
role-play congressmen and women attempting to pass a bill into
a law through the appropriate steps.
Grade level: 4-6.
Congress in the Classroom: A WebQuest
Through this WebQuest you will be able to explain the role of
each of the three branches of government, identify some important
members of the federal government, identify your local and state
Members of Congress, explain the process of how a bill becomes
a law, and simulate the law-making process in your classroom.
Grade level: 3-12.
Congressional Committees and the Legislative Process
This lesson plan introduces students to the pivotal role that
Congressional committees play in the legislative process, focusing
on how their own Congressional representatives influence legislation
through their committee appointments. Students begin by reviewing
the stages of the legislative process, then learn how committees
and subcommittees help determine the outcome of this process
by deciding which bills the full Congress will consider and by
shaping the legislation upon which votes are finally cast. With
this background, students research the committee and subcommittee
assignments of their Congressional representatives, then divide
into small groups to prepare class reports on the jurisdictions
of these different committees and their representatives' special
responsibilities on each one. Finally, students consider why
representation on these specific committees might be important
to the people of their state or community, and examine how the
committee system reflects some of the basic principles of American
federalism.
Grade level: 9-12.
Congressional Representation
Students will explore the relationship between state population
and federal congressional representation. Using Web site data
or almanacs, students will graph state population, state size,
and number of congressional representatives. Students will then
infer the relationship between the three figures. Historical
extensions allow students to discover why congressional representation
was set up in this fashion.
Grade level: 5-12.
The Constitution Game
This lesson offers an exciting way to pre-assess or review the
contents of the United States Constitution in a game and tournament
format using the highly effective Teams-Games-Tournament (T-G-T)
cooperative learning strategy.
Grade level: 6-8
The Constitutional Convention
Here, you'll introduce your students to four key, but relatively
unknown, contributors to the U.S. Constitution-Oliver Ellsworth,
Alexander Hamilton, William Paterson, and Edmund Randolph. Learn
through their words and the words of others how the Founding
Fathers created "a model of cooperative statesmanship and the
art of compromise."
Grade level: 9-12.
The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said
What were some of the conflicts debated in the meetings and discussions
that led to the creation of the Constitution of the United States?
What interests and passions drove those conflicts—and to
what shared principles did the Founders appeal as they struggled
to reach a compromise? In this lesson, students will learn how
the Founding Fathers debated, then resolved, their differences
in the Constitution Learn through their words and the words of
others how the Founding Fathers created "a model of cooperative
statesmanship and the art of compromise."
Grade level: 9-12.
Continuity and Change in the Governing of the United States
This unit includes four lessons using primary sources to examine
continuity and change in the governing of the United States.
Lessons one and two are focused on a study of the Constitution
and Bill of Rights and provide access to primary source documents
from the Library of Congress. Lesson three investigates important
issues which confronted the first Congress and has students examine
current congressional debate over similar issues. Lesson four
features broadsides from the Continental Congress calling for
special days of thanksgiving and remembrance. The first three
lessons are intended for middle and high school students. Lesson
four provides a historical context for elementary school lessons
that focus on celebrating national holidays. The unit also includes
extension activities for each lesson which may be developed as
classroom activities or individual research projects.
Grade level: 4-12.
The Factional Feud
This lesson uses the format of the popular game show "The Family
Feud" to examine the Federalist/Antifederalist debates that preceded
the ratification of the United States Constitution and to reinforce
and assess students' understanding of the contents of the Federalist
Papers.
Grade level: 6-8
Facts of the Union
The lesson plan offers students the opportunity to review statements
made by President Bush in his 2007 State of the Union Address.
It provides students with a good starting point for examining some
crucial issues the president laid out for the year. Students will
research details of these issues, analyze the president's statements
and claims, and draw conclusions about how straightforward he was
with the American people. Once students have gained a solid understanding
of these issues, they can continue to examine progress made on
them by the president and Congress over the course of the year.
What's It All About? An Introduction to the First Amendment
This lesson gives students a broad overview of First Amendment principles as a starting point for other lessons (for middle and high school students) that treat the subject with greater depth. A goal here, as with all the lessons, is to make the First Amendment personal, to help students understand that America’s first freedoms belong to them — as they belong to everyone. Some of the ideas contained in this lesson will be suitable for all students; others are geared for more able students or for those who want to pursue independent study. Please feel free to make selections from these offerings to suit your students’ needs and interests.
First Federal Congress
This lesson establishes the responsibilities and expectations
for the First Federal Congress. It introduces the role of the
FFC in developing our government beyond the Constitution, the
aspirations for this government, and the challenges that face
the government. This unit would be an opportune place to connect
the FFC to the present functioning of Congress through access
to C-Span and e-mail questions to local representatives.
Grade level: 5-12.
First
Federal Congress: A Mock Session of Congress
In this lesson, students will re-enact the legislative debates
of the First Federal Congress (FFC) focusing on two key issues:
the Residence Bill and the Funding Bill (assumption plan). This
activity will feature students role-playing as representatives
of the FFC. Students will be assigned to represent the individual
interests of the 13 states in an attempt to maximize gains for
their constituents. The Residence Bill (S-12) and Funding Bill
(HR 63) have been chosen not only because the debates on the
two bills dominated the proceedings of the FFC, but also because
their passage required skillful compromise. Through legislative
action, parliamentary procedure and behind the scene maneuvering,
students will discover the challenges and merits of political
bargaining.
Grade level: 9-12.
The Great Energy Debate
This lesson explores the controversial issues surrounding the energy debate in the United States. Students will research recent initiatives being taken in this area and analyze their implications. They will then assume the roles of pivotal stakeholders in this debate and testify to a mock congressional committee responsible for making decisions about public lands and energy resources.
Grade level: 9-12.
How a Bill Becomes Law
The purpose of this activity package is to provide activities
that will encourage students to understand how our government
introduces, passes laws, and makes policy decisions and, also,
to develop in them an increased awareness of the issues affecting
their lives and how they can provide input into the American
political process.
Grade level: 7-8
How a Bill Becomes Law
This lesson, designed for 4th through 6th grade, uses interactives
to help students define the jobs of the legislative branch of
government, compare and contrast the House of Representatives
and the Senate, list the steps determining how a bill becomes
a law, and demonstrate how the system of checks and balances
affects a bill becoming a law.
How a Bill Becomes a Law-Creative Dramatics
After completing this activity, students will be able to explain
the process of how a bill becomes a law.
How Does a Bill Become Law?
This lesson was designed as an introduction to Congress by showing
one function they perform (how a bill becomes a law). This lesson
can be modified to focus on any one area of government that deals
with bills and laws (i.e. House of Representatives, Senate, Presidency).
Grade level: 12.
How Does a Bill Become Law? WebQuest
Because the United States has a two-party system that requires
both sides to compromise, and a system of checks and balances
to protect people from unreasonable laws, the legislative process
is a long one.How does a bill become a law? Why does it take
so long? What happens when a bill is not passed by Congress in
a session? What happens if the President vetoes, or does not
sign, the law? These are some of the questions you will need
to answer as you go through this WebQuest.
In Congress Assembled: Continuity and Change in the Governing of the United States
This unit includes four lessons using primary sources to examine
continuity and change in the governing of the United States.
Lessons one and two are focused on a study of the Constitution
and Bill of Rights and provide access to primary source documents
from the Library of Congress. Lesson three investigates important
issues which confronted the first Congress and has students examine
current congressional debate over similar issues. Lesson four
features broadsides from the Continental Congress calling for
special days of thanksgiving and remembrance. The first three
lessons are intended for middle and high school students. Lesson
four provides a historical context for elementary school lessons
that focus on celebrating national holidays. The unit also includes
extension activities for each lesson which may be developed as
classroom activities or individual research projects.
Grade levels: 9-12.
Majorities Rule!
In this lesson students will be randomly assigned to one of two
groups (majority or minority) and will debate and vote on a series
of bills that are fundamentally unfair in that they favor the
majority and are detrimental to the minority. After "feeling" the
impact of discrimination the students will discuss protections
that are accorded to minorities in the American political system
and how those protections might be applied.
Grade levels: 6-8
Mock Congress
The purpose of this lesson is to show students how the Congress
step-by-step goes about its primary task--making laws. This simulation
will help students better understand the two-party influence
on Congress, the committee aspect(s) of Congress' work, checks
and balances (veto/override), etc. Instead of simply discussing
the process of how a bill becomes a law (or reading about it
in a textbook) the students actually participate by taking actual
issues currently of concern and attempting to write and pass
laws about these issues. This can be taught in conjunction with
the study of the legislative branch, current events, separation
of powers, and others. This lesson also requires students to
use many skills necessary to the social studies: debate, research,
writing, critical thinking, and many, many more.
Grade level: 7-8.
Mock Congress
The purpose of this activity is to get the students involved
in the legislative process of law-making by assuming different
roles and understand the relevance of these laws to their lives.
Grade level: 9-12.
A Nation's Voice
In this lesson, students will understand U.S. policy making in
times of military conflict by learning about constitutional, statutory,
and customary factors that affect policy. They will apply their
knowledge of policy making to determine if U.S. involvement in
its 20th century conflicts was warranted. This lesson plan also
includes great sound bites (e.g., Roosevelt, JFK, and Bush) that
could be used to discuss the justification of war powers.
Grade level: 9-12.
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
In this introductory lesson, students will recognize the importance
of understanding how the separate powers of the three branches
of government work together, in a checks and balances system,
to form a single unit of government. Students will be able to
define the terms "separation of powers" and "checks and balances;" list
the three separate branches of government; identify each branches'
assigned powers and functions; label each branches' exerted powers
over the others.
Grade level: 9-12.
Separation of Powers Between the Three Branches of Government
The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the
concept of the three branches of government. By understanding
the development of the these branches the students will better
understand the decision making process by which our government
lives.
Grade level: 10-12
State of the Union Address
In this lesson, students will closely read President George W.
Bush's State of the Union address of January 28, 2003, and develop
interviews and write articles to assess a variety of points of
view about the proposals offered in the speech.
Grade level: 6-12
Three Branch Checking Game
In this lesson students will play a game that is designed to
help them understand the powers and responsibilities of the three
branches of the United States government. The lesson can be used
to pre-assess or reinforce students' understanding of the powers
of the three branches.
Grade level: 4-5
Links to portal sites directing you to lessons about Congress
edHelper.com
